A site for me to make my favorite TV Western end the way it should have. Enjoy my scribblings. =)
Please, let me know what you think of my stories! Tell me the good, the bad and the ugly. Or leave me suggestions for future installments.

Friday, November 25, 2011

The Only Thing To Fear: The Beginning

Music:Learning to Fall, Martina McBride

His face slowly lowered to hers,
his lips slightly parted.She could
taste his breath as their mouths met and it was so sweet.Her own breath caught in her throat as his
lips gently moved over hers.She sighed
in contentment.Suddenly his hands
roughly grabbed her shoulders and threw her to the ground.

“You’re all grown up, Louise,”
she heard him purr nastily in her ear.

She opened her eyes as he
sprawled on top of her, mashing his lips against hers so hard she could taste
blood from where her teeth had cut into her own lip.She tried to struggle, but couldn’t move her
arms.She twisted and turned to get away
from him, but his hands and lips seemed to follow her everywhere.The harder she fought, the less she could
move.She tried to open her mouth to
scream, but he just shoved his tongue inside.She felt like she was suffocating.

Then, it felt like he had slammed
her into a wall.Her head banged
painfully against the wooden planks.

“Lou!” Kid exclaimed, staring
down at her, where she’d fallen to the ground next to his bunk.“Are you alright?”

Unable to calm her own fears that
quickly, Lou’s eyes flitted frantically around the room, looking for the man
who’d attacked her so violently, ripping the last remnants of her childhood
from her.

“Lou,” Kid whispered, watching
her wildly rolling eyes and panting breaths.She didn’t wait to find out what else he was about to say.She jumped to her feet and fled the
bunkhouse, unable to face any of the boys while still in the grips of terror.

She headed straight to the barn,
where she slammed through the doors and into Lightning’s stall, flinging
herself against the dozing horse’s side.Great, gulping sobs wracked her entire body as she tried to get control
of herself.

“Why!Why now!Why can’t he leave me alone?Hasn’t he taken enough from me?” she wailed into the horse’s mane.The animal’s calm acceptance of her grief and
fear helped her get control.As she
fought free of the fear that had held her in its grip, she started to get
mad.

She stepped back from the horse
and turned to take a swing at the stall door, ramming her fist into the boards
as hard as she could.“Damn him!” she
growled, swinging again. “Damn him to hell!”

“Nightmares?”

Lou froze in position.

“I have them too,” he said
quietly.

She slowly raised her eyes to
meet Jimmy’s.She could see his face was
wet with sweat, his hair in disarray, his shoulders stiff as if ready to face
any threat, his gun strapped on even in the middle of the night.

He held up a hand to show her the
healing scrapes along his knuckles.“Why
do ya think I wear gloves so much?”

Startled, she looked down at her
own fists to find them scraped up and bloody.Suddenly she could feel the sting of the wounds she’d inflicted on
herself in her anger and fear.

“Shit!”

“Don’t worry,” Jimmy
soothed.“There’s some medicine in the
tack room.Teaspoon made it.”She wrinkled her nose in immediate disgust.“But it works real well,” he finished.

That’s where Kid found them a few
moments later, in the tack room.Jimmy
was handing her a pot filled with a foul smelling concoction that looked
suspiciously like the bear grease Teaspoon had rubbed all over himself that
first day they’d met him.

“Lou!” Kid exclaimed.“Are you alright?I was worried when ya didn’t come back…” he
paused, obviously searching for a reason why she would’ve left the bunkhouse.

“He just had a nightmare and
needed to beat up on some demons,” Jimmy said softly.

Lou removed the wet cloth she’d
been using to wash and hide her injured hands with.“Jimmy offered to help me tend my injuries.”

“Ya didn’t do that when ya fell
out of bed, didya?” Kid asked.

Lou shook her head in a shaky ‘no’,
unwilling to explain any more.Taking
the pot from Jimmy, she began smearing the goop across her knuckles.

“Need any help?” Kid asked.When she shook her head ‘no’, again, he
accepted her silent request and turned to head back to bed.“Alright.”

“Kid,” she said, unable to let
him leave like that.He stopped and
turned to look back at her.“Thanks for
checkin’ on me.”

Kid nodded and left to return to
bed.

“I’d better get back to bed,
too,” Jimmy said.“I’ve got a run in the
mornin’.You comin’?”

“Not yet,” she said quietly.He nodded in understanding and headed back to
the bunkhouse alone.

After he left, she went back to
Lightning’s stall and curled up in the straw near the feed trough.Here, with her horse, was the one place where
she knew she was safe.Within a few
minutes, she was enjoying a dreamless sleep.

********

The noise of the boys coming into
the barn to start their morning chores woke Lou the next morning.

“Has anyone seen Lou?” she heard
Buck ask.

“He left early to check on his
horse,” Kid said.

Lou scrambled upright and looked
around frantically for someplace to hide.She couldn’t let them catch her in here in her longjohns.As she cast around for some idea, her hand
brushed a piece of cloth in the straw next to her.Looking down, she saw her clothes neatly
folded on the floor of the stall.

“Kid?” she whispered, even as she
quickly scrambled into the clothes.He’d
saved her hide.Shaking her head to get
rid of the hay she’d collected in her hair in her sleep, she readied herself to
face the others.A moment later she
stepped out of the stall, carefully closing the door behind her.

“Is he alright?” Kid asked,
startling her.

“Uh, yeah,” she stumbled.

“Better get to work, then,” Kid
rescued her.“Breakfast will be ready
soon.”

She nodded silently and turned to
her morning chores.

*********

Lou sighed.It was Saturday and that meant bath
night.She’d quickly finished her chores
and was now gathering her soap and towel.She hated bathing in the pond.It
was still too chilly out and the waters remained frigid.But she’d yet to come up with an alternative.

“Whatcha doin’?” Kid asked,
walking in the bunkhouse door.

She swung around, startled by the
sound of his voice, then relaxed as she realized who it was.Turning back to her trunk, she finished
gathering her bath materials.“Just
getting ready to go bathe.”

“But, Emma doesn’t have the water
hot, yet.”

“Cain’t take any chances on
gettin’ caught in the bathtub, Kid,” she said.“I bathe out at the pond.”

“The pond?Ain’t that a bit cold?”

“More’n a bit,” she admitted,
shrugging.“Cain’t see as I’ve got any
choice ‘bout it, though.Gotta get
cleaned up.”

“What if I stand guard for ya?”
he offered.

“What do ya mean?”

“I can keep watch, make sure no
one walks in on ya.It’ll be easy.They’ll all think I’m just waitin’ fer my
turn in the tub.”

“You’d do that fer me?” she
asked, bewildered.

“Sure.Why not?”

“Ya only promised not ta tell,”
she said wonderingly.“Ya never said
anythin’ ‘bout helpin’ me.”

It was his turn to shrug.“Do ya want me ta stand guard, or not?”

She stood there for a moment, searching
his face, trying to suss out his thoughts.Eventually she gave up.“Sure.A hot bath sounds nice for
a change.”

An hour late, she sighed in pure
bliss as she sank into the cowboy tub*.It wasn’t very big.She imagined
the boys could barely fit in it sitting up.But she was so small she could nearly submerge her entire body in the
water.The HOT water.

She didn’t even mind that the hot
water was already slightly murky from those who’d used it before her.She’d been the third person on the rotation
Emma’d set up this week.That mean Cody
and Ike had used the same water before her.She didn’t even want to think about what all they’d left behind in it.

With a slight shudder at that
thought, Lou got to work cleaning up.Used water or not, it was hot and she planned to enjoy it.Just as she was pouring a bucket of water
over her body to rinse off the soap, she heard a series of knocks on the
kitchen door.Kid’s warning that her
time was nearly up!

Her eyes widened as she froze for
a moment, then burst into a flurry of movement.Jumping out of the tub, she quickly toweled off and slid into the clean
clothes she’d left warming by the fire.Moments later she walked out the kitchen door, nearly knocking Kid off
his feet as he’d been leaning against the door.

“Ooof!”

“Oh! Sorry, Kid,” she smiled,
reaching out a hand to catch his elbow and stop his fall.“Didn’t realize you were busy holdin’ up the
door.”

Kid just stared at her.After a moment she began to get nervous and
reached up to grab the edge of the towel hanging around her neck and rub it
against her still damp hair.

“Somethin’ wrong with the way I
look?” she asked defensively.

Kid shook himself out of his
torpor and smiled secretively at her.“Only if you want ta keep yer secret.Yer just too damned pretty ta be a boy right now!”

Lou felt herself start to blush
and reached out to slug him in the arm for that comment.He just tipped his hat at her and slipped
into the kitchen, closing the door in her face.Lou turned to head back to the bunkhouse.As she entered the bunkhouse she caught the
last of Ike signing something to Buck on the porch.

“Alright, boys,” Emma said as
they finished up the last of breakfast.“Here’s the list of chores that need doin’ today.Everybody’s gotta lend a hand, even you
Cody,” she added with a pointed look in the blonde rider’s direction that had
the rest chuckling.“Then, this
afternoon, once Teaspoon gets back with my fixed buckboard wheel I’ll need all
of ya ta help put it on.Now, Buck, yer
excused from chores today, other than tendin’ the stock, ‘cause ya’ve got a
run.”

Lou reached out and nabbed the list
Emma had set down on the table.With the
possible exception of Cody she was the best reader in the group and had by now
become the chosen one when it came to reading things out loud.Holding the sheet of paper up and looking
over the tops of her useless glasses, she began.

“Wash breakfast dishes.Peel potatoes for lunch.Weed the garden.Spread manure on garden.Sweep the bunkhouse.Change the tics in the bunkhouse.”

Finishing the list she looked up
and asked, “So, who wants ta do what?”

“I don’t want ta do none of it,”
Cody whined.

“That ain’t an option,” Buck
smiled at him gloatingly.Cody tossed
the last piece of toast crust in his hand at his tormentor.

“I’ll sweep and peel,” Jimmy
said.“Anythin’ ta avoid spreadin’
manure.It ain’t like I don’t deal with
enough shit on a daily basis as it is.”

“I guess I’ll weed,” Lou
muttered.There was no way she was goin’
ta get stuck in the kitchen.

Soon, the boys all went their
separate ways.Lou found herself humming
as she pulled the weeds from among Emma’s vegetables.There was something soothing about working
with her hands in the dirt underneath the bright spring sunshine.Not as soothing as taking Lightning for a
gallop but, still, she was enjoying herself.

“You might wanna cut down on the
hummin’,” Kid said behind her.“The boys
could get the wrong idea.”

Kid squatted down beside her and
joined in the work. “Yeah,” he said with a
laugh.“But he don’t sound near so
pretty.”

Lou blushed.

“What was it you were hummin’,
anyway?” he asked as they moved to the next row.

“Just an old tune my Grandpa used
ta sing ta me,” she said, smiling in memory.“It’s an Irish ballad.He came
from the old country, ya know.”

“The old country?”

“Ireland.Grandpa McCloud came over with his wife and
my ma back in ’45.He’d been a
horsetrainer for some lord back there, but lost his job during the potato
famine,” she explained.“They weren’t
farmers, but with so many people desperate for work, the fancy lord found
someone younger and cheaper to do his job.”

Kid could see the turn in the
conversation was making Lou uncomfortable by the way she refused to look at him
and kept shifting around.So, he changed
tacks a bit.

“Could you teach me?” he asked.

“Teach you what?”She stopped weeding a moment to look up at
him.

“The song you were humming.”

Soon they were laughing and
singing together as they finished the weeding and started spreading the manure
on the young vegetable plants.

Near Banbridge town, in
the County Down

*One morning in July

Down a boreen green came a
sweet colleen

And she smiled as she
passed me by.

She looked so sweet from
her two white feet

To the sheen of her
nut-brown hair

Such a coaxing elf, I'd to
shake myself

To make sure I was
standing there.

From Bantry Bay up to
Derry Quay

And from Galway to Dublin
town

No maid I've seen like the
sweet colleen

That I met in the County
Down.

As she onward sped I shook
my head

And I gazed with a feeling
rare

And I said, says I, to a
passerby

"who's the maid with
the nut-brown hair?"

He smiled at me, and with
pride says he,

"That's the gem of
Ireland's crown.

She's young Rosie McCann

from the banks of the Bann

She's the star of the
County Down."

From Bantry Bay up to
Derry Quay

And from Galway to Dublin
town

No maid I've seen like the
sweet colleen

That I met in the County
Down.

I've travelled a bit, but
never was hit

Since my roving career
began

But fair and square I
surrendered there

To the charms of young
Rose McCann.

I'd a heart to let and no
tenant yet

Did I meet with in shawl
or gown

But in she went and I
asked no rent

From the star of the
County Down.

From Bantry Bay up to
Derry Quay

And from Galway to Dublin
town

No maid I've seen like the
sweet colleen

That I met in the County
Down.

At the crossroads fair
I'll be surely there

And I'll dress in my
Sunday clothes

And I'll try sheep's eyes,
and deludhering lies

On the heart of the
nut-brown rose.

No pipe I'll smoke, no
horse I'll yoke

Though with rust my plow
turns brown

Till a smiling bride by my
own fireside

Sits the star of the
County Down.

From Bantry Bay up to
Derry Quay

And from Galway to Dublin
town

No maid I've seen like the
sweet colleen

That I met in the County
Down.

Suddenly a third
voice, a sweet soprano, joined their harmony.Both Kid and Lou stopped singing to turn and look.Emma stood on the back step of her home,
singing along.

“I always loved
that song,” she said with a smile.When
the two young people just looked back at her, not quite sure what to do or say,
she added, “Are you about done here?Mr.
Spoon’s back with my wheel.”

“We’ll be there in
a couple minutes, ma’am,” Kid said.Emma
nodded and left them to finish their work.

“That was close,”
Lou whispered. “Do ya think she suspects anythin’?”

“Naw,” Kid
shrugged.“She’d’ve said somethin’.”

***************

Lou groaned as they finally
managed to maneuver the wheel back onto the axle.She was going to kill Cody!Turning she looked to see who had distracted
him.A pretty woman sat in a buckboard
talking to Emma.Immediately she
understood what had Cody so hot and bothered.

“So she looks nice in a dress,”
Lou admitted, almost cringing when she realized she’d spoken aloud.

“She fills it out real nice,”
Jimmy added.

Lou glared daggers at him for
encouraging Cody, only to realize he was just as…. enamored… as their blonde
friend.Turning to the young man next to
her she realized he was staring almost as much as the other two.In a devilish mood she asked, “What do you
think, Kid?”

She had to fight not to laugh out
loud when Kid jerked and looked down at her almost guiltily.

“Safer not to,” he answered.

Lou smothered a giggle.The same devil inside her pushed her to
continue.“So, Abigail McPherson is
pretty,” she started.At the astonished
looks from Cody and Hickok she revised her statement with a glare.“Alright, she’s beautiful.But, can she ride?”

Kid’s astonished look almost had
her doubling over in laughter. It was so much fun to needle these boys, she
thought.Especially when half the time
they didn’t even realize they were being made fun of.

Then Emma came back and said Mrs.
McPherson had been smiling at Lou and suddenly the joke was on her.

“I guess she takes a shine to the
silent type,” Emma smiled.

Lou turned away quickly to hide
her suddenly burning face.Kid took a
moment to get some of his own back and started tickling her.That just pissed her off and she shoved him.He should know better than that, she thought
furiously.What was he trying to do,
give her away?

“Well, she’ll love Ike then,” she
heard Jimmy opine.

She’d had enough and, since the
wheel was back on the buckboard, she pushed past Kid and stomped back toward
the bunkhouse.

“You don’t need my help, no
more,” she tossed over her shoulder.

“What’s with him?” she heard Cody
ask, bewildered.

“Leave him alone,” Emma ordered,
“and finish this wheel.I need to be
able to drive the buckboard tomorrow when we go into town for supplies, or
there won’t be anything for you to eat!”

**********

“I just don’t know what ta do,
Katy.”

Lou stopped abruptly as she
overheard Kid talking to his horse.She’d come out to the barn to get some alone time.She’d had enough of the innuendos and double
and triple entendres the boys had been tossing around over supper.They were still all agog over Abigail McPherson.

“I cain’t treat her like a woman,
I might give her secret away,” he continued in his monologue.“But, I just don’t have it in me to treat her
like a boy.She’s…. she’s just too
special for me ta act like that with her, around her.”

Lou sighed.Seemed it was time to have a little talk with
him.

“You don’t haveta ‘treat’ me like
anythin’,” she said quietly.Kid spun
around to stare at her, surprised.“Just
be my friend.”

“And how do I do that?”

“Be there for me when I need
help, like ya been doin’,” she admitted with a small smile.“Help me celebrate when things are goin’
well, help me pick up the pieces when they don’t.Let me do the same fer you.”

“But…”

She walked up to him and boldly
laid her fingers over his mouth to silence him.“I ain’t sayin’ forget, I’m just sayin’ don’t let it matter.React to the situation, not the person.”

Kid laughed quietly as he wrapped
his own hand around the fingers she’d pressed against his mouth. “I ain’t
likely ta ever forget, Lou.Now that I
know it shines through in everything you say and do.I’m surprised I didn’t figure it out before.”

“Maybe you were too blinded by
the Abigail McPhersons of the world to notice the Louise McClouds,” she
offered, stepping back.

“Lou,” he started to say when
Cody burst through the barn doors.

“Come up to the bunkhouse,
quick!Ike’s back and there’s trouble!”

*************

Lou sighed as she took her turn
looking out the window, keeping watch for Nickerson’s gang.It had been a long night and the night wasn’t
half over.She was glad for Emma’s hot
coffee.It was the only thing that was
keeping her awake right now.She looked
across at Ike, stationed at the other window.He looked so down.

“You’re doin; the right thing,
Ike,” she reassured him.

*Am I?* he signed.

“You can’t just let him get away
with this,” Lou said.“Just think of all
the people yer savin’.Anyone dies
tonight, it’s ‘cause they chose ta put their lives on the line to ensure
justice is done.”

Ike just stared at her for a
moment, before starting to sign again.*They woudn’t have to if I’d just done what I should have the first
time.*

Lou looked at him quizzically.She moved over to stand beside him at the
window.In a quiet voice she asked, “What
are ya talkin’ ‘bout, Ike?”

*I had him in my sights,* he
signed.*I just couldn’t pull the
trigger. I couldn’t, Lou.Now people are
going to die because of my cowardice.*

Lou put her hand on his
shoulder.“It’s not cowardice to not be
able to shoot an unarmed man.It’s what
separates us from killers like Nickerson.You should never be ashamed.”

“Riders comin’!” they heard Buck’s
shouting from his post in the barn.“Riders
comin’ fast!”

“Get ready,” Lou said.“I’ll get Kid and Emma.”

As Nickerson’s men came riding
into the home station, guns blazing, Lou returned to hunker down next to Ike
and begin shooting at the invaders.The
firefight seemed to last forever, as she took aim again and again.In the few minutes it took the rampaging riders
to make their passes through the yard, Lou had to reload her pistol twice.As usual, the details of the fight escaped
Lou’s memory almost as soon as it was over.She only remembered the intense focus on aiming and firing her weapon
over and over.In the end, though not
happy to have ended anyone’s life, she felt a quiet sense of satisfaction to
note that she was responsible for felling as many men as any of the other
boys.She’d held her own.

Looking around, she noticed Ike
heading determinedly out of the house.

“Oh, shit!” she muttered as she
realized what he was probably up to.She
hurried to follow Emma and Kid out of the house into the yard to meet up with
the others.

“What happened ta Ike?” Teaspoon
asked.

Lou looked around, noticing she’d
lost sight of him.“Emma, you seen Ike?”

Emma nodded.“Headin’ toward the stable.He’s gonna try an’ make it to Blue Creek by
hisself.He don’t want this trouble
comin’ down on us.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,”
Lou muttered under her breath to herself, unheard by the others as they all turned
to head for the barn.

***************

“Ike, we’re your friends,” Lou
reassured him as they huddled behind the barrier of a fallen tree, hiding from
the cutthroats Nickerson had hired to stop them from getting Ike to Blue Creek
to testify.“We’re stickin’ by ya.We ain’t gonna let ya face trouble by
yerself.”

Ike started to sign something to
her, but she placed a hand over his to stop him.“No, Ike.Don’t.We’re all orphans, to one
extent or another. If we don’t stick up fer each other, ain’t no one else gonna
do it.Just accept it.And return the favor when the time comes.”

Kid came running up to them bent
in half.“How’re ya doin’ on ammo?”

Lou checked her pockets.“I’m alright.But I think Ike’s runnin’ low.”

Kid seated himself between the
other two and dug in the saddlebag he carried for another pouch of bullets,
which he handed to Ike.The bald headed
young man nodded his appreciation as he began reloading.

“Now whatta we do?” Lou asked.

“Send out the boy,” one of the bandits
yelled across to them.“He’s the only
one we want.The rest of ya can go.”

The riders looked at each other.Jimmy laughed.“Whatta ya say, guys?”

In an instant, silent decision
all turned simultaneously and started firing again.

Lou glared at Jimmy who after a
moment of silence seemed to get the point.“I’m sorry.We’ll get out of this
somehow.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Kid said and
began to lay out his plan to use the nearby wash to reach a rock wall that
would allow him to overlook the outlaws and hold them down while the others
escape.

“It’s suicide, Kid!” Lou
exclaimed aghast.It was bad enough to
leave someone behind.She was still
hurting with worry for Cody.But, to
leave Kid behind?She wasn’t sure if she
could do it.It was in that moment, she
knew for sure he was more than just a friend.More even than the brothers the others had become.She wasn’t sure what that more was, but she
wanted the chance to find out.

She found it hard to breathe as
frustration wrapped its steel arms around her and squeezed tight.There were so many things she wanted to say
to him, and couldn’t.Not without giving
up all she’d fought so hard for.And she
couldn’t do that.She just couldn’t.But that might mean she’d lose him for
good.He could be as confident as he
wanted, there was a good chance he’d never come back from this.She might never see him again.“We ain’t leavin’ ya here.Not after Cody.”

His voice noticeably softened as
he turned to her, “I’ll be right behind ya.”

Even though he’d noted her
concern, that didn’t stop him from doing what he thought was right, she
complained to herself.Danged, stubborn,
enfuriating, endearing, loveable man.

She didn’t know how, but she managed
to stick with the others as they fled for Blue Creek leaving Kid behind to
provide cover.The entire rest of the
ride she kept looking over her shoulder, hoping to see Kid, even Cody, catching
up with them.The closer they got to
Blue Creek with no sign of the two missing riders, the more it felt like
someone was ripping her heart out of her chest, one piece at a time.Even arriving safely and seeing Marshal Cain
keeping watch for them wasn’t much of a relief.

“You alright, Ike?” he
asked.Ike nodded, almost as if he were ashamed
to be healthy and whole.“Where’s the
Kid and Cody?”

Lou froze.She couldn’t answer.She was too afraid she knew what the real
answer was and she couldn’t face it.

“Hopefully bringing up the rear,”
she heard Buck say.

“Damn!If anything happens to those kids Emma will…”

“Don’t worry, they can handle
themselves,” Jimmy interjected, meeting Lou’s eyes as if speaking directly to
her and not the Marshal.His attitude
really grated at her.How could he be so
nonchalant about this?

As the others followed Jimmy and
Ike into the Marshal’s office, Lou found herself staring longingly down the
road, hoping desperately to see Katy come racing down the street or to hear
Cody’s typically exuberant yell.Nothing.Her shoulders fell as
she turned to follow the others.

*************

Lou found herself wandering down
the boardwalk in the wake of Buck, Jimmy and Marshal Cain.She watched with incredulity as Buck,
supposedly Ike’s best friend!, allowed himself to be distracted by the pretty
young lady he’d run into.He ended up
trotting after her like a bewitched puppy, loaded down with her packages.

“We’ll be at the hotel
restaurant,” Marshal Cain had said with an indulgent look.

Lou looked at him in growing
anger.How could he be taking all of
this so lightly!Finally she just couldn’t
keep quiet anymore.

“You’re amazin’.”

Jimmy grinned.“So I’ve been told.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she
gritted out, fighting to keep the tears of anger and fear at bay, her voice
getting louder and more angry as she continued.“Kid and Cody are missin’, maybe dead.Ike’s got a price on his head.Who knows what’ll happen before the trial and yer actin’ like ever’thin’s
great.What’s the matter with you?!”

This finally got Jimmy’s
attention and wiped the smirk off his face.He turned to face her, his eyes boring into hers as he responded with equal
amounts of anger and, she saw as she looked deep into his eyes, fear.

“The way I choose to handle my
problems is my business!”

Lou unconsciously pulled back
from him in the face of his blazing fury.As he noticed Lou’s response, he reigned his anger in and quietened his
tone.

“And unless you forget, they’re
my friends, too.”

“Sorry, Jimmy.You’re right.”

He nodded, acknowledging her
apology, then turned and walked off toward the hotel restaurant.Lou felt the tears she’d been fighting all
day start to boil over.Damn it!She’d really hoped not to lose control.She quickly turned away, toward the wall,
trying to hide her reaction from the Marshal.

“You alright, Lou?”

Too little, too late.What excuse could she give him? What would
the boys say in a situation like this?Who was she kidding?The boys
would never be in a situation like this.Finally, she took a leaf from her brother Jeremiah’s book.

“Yep.Been ridin’ hard.Just got some dust in my eyes, that’s all.”When that didn’t get him off her back, she
added.“Go ahead.I’ll catch up.”

After he left, she felt her way
around the corner into the nearby alley.There she sank to the ground and let the tears flow.Sobbing, she lay her head on her knees,
wrapping her arms around herself, as if to hold it all in.It was a relief to let go of the pain and
worry, finally.But she knew she needed
to get control of herself.Slowly, the
sobs slowed and she was able to wipe her face dry.

Once she felt she was
presentable, she headed back out onto the street and down the boardwalk toward
the restaurant.She knew her eyes were
still red-rimmed from her crying jag, but there was nothing she could do about
that.She just hoped the guys didn’t
notice.

************

Lou stared down at the plate of
steak the waitress had just set in front of her.She had no appetite but knew she needed to
eat.It had been a long night and day of
fighting and riding with nothing to eat.She could feel Jimmy’s and Sam’s eyes on her, but simply couldn’t make
herself care.She’d rather just sit here
and be numb.To let herself feel might
mean another break down and she couldn’t afford that.

“If they’re not back by mornin’,
I’ll send out a posse,” she heard the Marshal sigh.

“They can take care of
themselves,” Jimmy put in.“They’re
probably just hidin’.”

This got her attention and she
looked up from the plate of food in front of her.She couldn’t keep her mouth shut.“What if they’re not?” she said, giving voice
to the fears that had been circling her head ever since they’d left Cody and
Kid behind.“What if Nickerson’s men got
‘em?What if they’re laying somewhere,
hurt?What if…”

Lou was considering this when a
sudden thump on the table startled her.She
looked up sharply to see Cody’s shining smile.

“Ain’t no maybe about it!”

She started to smile, then saw
Kid walk up beside her and her small smile of greeting turned into a warm, face
eating grin of welcoming joy.As he
smiled back down at her, the rest of the world around them seemed to
disappear.She jumped to her feet,
intent on hugging him close and never letting him go again.She hadn’t realized just how precious he’d
become to her until she’d almost lost him.Yet, as she took a step toward him, something Cody was saying about food
brought her back to reality and she remembered where and who she now was.Putting her head down, she opted instead to
give Kid a greeting punch in the arm, as she’d seen the boys do sometimes,
instead of the hug and kiss she wanted to give him.All was right with her world again.

**************

“Marshal,” Kid asked as they
walked out of the courthouse the next day, “where are the horses stabled?Figure we should head back as soon as Ike’s
free to go.”

______________________________________________________________________________
*A cowboy tub is similar to the old clawfoot tubs, just much, much smaller. I knew I had to include it in a story sometime, when I ran across one in an antiques store in Abilene, KS, earlier this year. The picture doesn't do a very good job of showing just how small this tub is. Maybe three feet long and 18 inches deep, max.

6 comments:

Thanks for the new chapter. Just beautiful. I enjoy the moments you have added in the storyline between Kid and Lou. We didn't get to see many of them in the show, so I'm so glad to read about them in your story.

You're welcome. I enjoy writing it. And, filling in the holes the show left in their relationship is really the whole purpose of this story... entirely from Lou's perspective, though. If you hadn't noticed, nothing I've written about has happened when Lou wasn't present. (hint, hint, another plot bunny is hogging all the other scenes! =)

The Author

Who am I? A Hispanic broadcast journalist, current host of Kansas Week on KPTS, and certified high school teacher, a writer and lifelong lover of all things historical, particularly the Old West. I'm married to a wonderful man from Germany and we have a 17 yr old son. We have two rescued cats and a rescued pooch, who thinks she's a 70 lb lapdog. I'm prone to talk about anything and everything that catches my interest.